First Kiss Again
by She's a Star
Summary: Five years after graduating from Hogwarts, Hermione returns to the Burrow, convinced that she and Ron's friendship can never be saved. However, Fred and George have another idea, and they won't rest until the former lovebirds are reunited!


First Kiss Again  
  
by She's a Star  
  
Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to the wonderful, spectacular, and in all ways brilliant  
J.K. Rowling :)  
  
A/N: Eurgh...I have major writer's block for my L/J Post-Hogwarts story, Meet the  
Parents, so I wrote this, thinking that taking a break might help. Unfortunately, I still  
have writer's block *groans* But you DO get a new R/H story :) So be the darlings you  
know you are and read/review. Thaaaaank you!  
  
~ * ~  
  
It looked the same.  
Twenty-two year old Hermione Granger decided that at once as she stood in front  
of The Burrow. She hadn't been there for at least six years, and yet as she stood in front  
of the oddly shaped house, she felt as though no time had passed at all.  
Yup, it looked the same all right.  
Oh, Hermione! she scolded herself mentally. Quit being an imbecile and just go  
inside...it's just Ginny in there, and even if it IS Ron, it's...just...Ron.  
Her Ron.  
No, not YOUR Ron! Hermione thought in self-disgust. You haven't even spoken  
to him in five years...not since The Argument.  
And that was how she thought of it...capitalized. The Argument. If THAT fight  
didn't deserve capital letters, then nothing did.  
Slowly, reluctantly, she walked towards the doorway.  
Oh, HONESTLY, Hermione, he used to be your best friend! You can't be so  
afraid of him like this!  
Taking a deep breath, she raised her hand and rapped the door lightly with her  
knuckles.   
A screech of delight immediately sounded from inside the house, and within  
seconds the door was swung open, revealing her best friend Ginny Weasley.  
"Hermione!" Ginny exclaimed, throwing her arms around her. Hermione laughed  
and hugged her friend back. "I thought you'd NEVER get here!"  
"Well, here I am," Hermione said lamely, glancing inside the Burrow. It looked  
the same on the inside too...and to her relief, there was no Ron in sight.  
"Come on in!" Ginny said, looking delighted at the prospect of playing hostess.  
"There's tea in the kitchen, Harry's sitting in there with the twins and Angelina, and I'll  
take your things upstairs."  
Ginny grabbed Hermione's one suitcase (which expanded on the inside and  
allowed her to carry much more than a normal one would, thanks to a tricky charm she'd  
mastered a few years before) and rushed upstairs. Tucking her still-bushy hair behind her  
ears, Hermione walked into the kitchen, where she found the twins, Angelina, and Harry  
laughing heartily while sipping tea.  
Harry.  
She hadn't seen him in quite a while either...the last time had been at Ginny's  
twenty-first birthday party. It hadn't felt the same between them, either...the conversation  
had been strained and awkward.  
After all, Harry had been part of The Argument as well.  
He was the reason it had been fought.  
"Hermione!" George (or was it Fred...?) boomed happily, pouring another cup of  
tea and motioning for her to sit down next to Harry.  
"Hello," Hermione said, forcing a weak smile. It was so strange that she could feel  
this intimidated around people who had used to be like a second family to her.  
"Haven't seen you in forever," Harry commented halfheartedly.  
"Well, I've been busy," Hermione replied, "With work and all."  
"Oh yes," Fred (George??) smiled teasingly. "The newest History of Magic  
teacher at Hogwarts."   
He picked up a spoon from the table and shoved it into her face. "Tell us,  
Professor Granger, what does it feel like working alongside the slimier-than-thou Severus  
Snape?"  
Hermione leaned forward to speak into the 'microphone' and replied, "Much as I'd  
love to answer your question, I cannot speak badly about my colleagues."  
"How about your personal life, then?" Fred asked. "Have you found true love after  
your simply atrocious break-up with my own baby brother, Ron Weasley?"  
Hermione felt her cheeks heat up, and she pushed the spoon away from her.   
"Is that a yes?" Fred wanted to know.  
"It's a no," Hermione replied crisply. "I don't have time for relationships in my life  
right now."  
"Oooh, the infamous 'I don't have time' excuse," George muttered.   
Hermione ignored him and took a sip of her tea. She'd never even had a  
real...relationship with Ron in the first place. Just because they'd attended the last three  
Yule Balls together and he'd kissed her a few times didn't mean that they were together.  
People just made assumptions too quickly.  
"So, Hermione," Harry said in an attempt to start up conversation again. "What's it  
like at Hogwarts without Dumbledore?"  
"It's...different," Hermione replied after a bit of thought. "Minerva-"  
"Ooh, ahh, you get to call her MINERVA now!" Fred (or at least Hermione was  
pretty sure he was Fred, seeing as he had his arm slung casually around Angelina's  
shoulders) said with a smirk. "What an honor."  
Hermione rolled her eyes at him before continuing. "Minerva is an excellent  
headmistress...she's just much more orderly."  
"Tell me about it," George said dryly. "I-"  
Not wanting to sit and listen to George complain about her boss, Hermione said,  
"Maybe I should go upstairs and see what Ginny's doing."   
As she rose from her seat, Fred asked, "Are you sure you want to do that?"  
"Why not?"  
"Well...Ron's right up in his room."  
"Ron's...here?" Hermione squeaked, immediately hating her tone of voice.  
Clearing her throat, she repeated in a much more offhand manner, "Oh, Ron's here?"  
"Yeah," George replied, giving her a wink. "Maybe you should get on up  
there...make up for lost time."  
Hermione sank back down into her chair at once and said, "Well, on second  
thought, perhaps I'll just wait for Ginny to come downstairs."  
"Why'd you change your mind so quickly, Hermione?" Fred asked in a tone that  
suggested he knew exactly why. "Afraid of Ickle Ronniekins?"  
"No, of course not," Hermione replied quickly.  
"Well then," Fred continued with a grin. "Why don't you just go on upstairs..."  
"...And say hello?" George finished.  
Hermione resisted the urge to curse the both of them, and instead said in her most  
professional tone, "Ron and I aren't on speaking terms any longer."  
"Oh, come ON, Hermione," George teased. "You know you still love him."  
"LOVE him?!" Hermione exclaimed. "I do not LOVE him! I haven't even SEEN  
him in five years!"  
"Minor detail," George said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "It's  
destiny...FATE!"  
"Oh, it is NOT!" Hermione disagreed, feeling her cheeks heat up in a mixture of  
anger and embarrassment. She hadn't even THOUGHT about Ron in the last half a  
decade! Well...maybe she'd thought about him a little bit.  
Or a lot.  
"Ahhh, Hermione, face the truth!" Fred ordered. "You and Ron are meant to  
be..."  
"Hermione and Ron forever," added George in a sing-songy voice.  
"Mrs. Hermione Weasley-"  
The kitchen door swung open and Ginny entered, looking at her twin brothers in  
suspicion.  
"You two aren't bugging Hermione about Ron, are you?"   
"We aren't BUGGING her," Fred said delicately.  
"Yeah," George agreed. "We're just helping her see the light...call us Cupid  
Number One and Cupid Number Two. Me being number one, naturally."  
"Oh, puh-leeze," Ginny said, dragging the word into two syllables as she sat down  
in Harry's lap and pecked him on the cheek. "That's been over for ages...it's in the past  
now."  
"You'd like to think that, wouldn't you?" Fred said mischievously.  
"Leave her alone," Ginny said in a 'and-that's-final!' tone.   
"Fine," George pouted. "But I-"  
George, however, never got a chance to finish his sentence, because at that very  
moment, someone burst into the kitchen. A very tall, red-headed, freckled, brown-eyed  
someone.  
"Gin, I have to go, I'm having dinner with the Finnigans," he said hurriedly. "Tell  
Mum-"  
His eyes suddenly landed on Hermione, and she felt her cheeks heat up and  
heartbeat increase.  
"Hermione," he said softly,  
She attempted a weak smile.  
"Ron," she replied.  
  
~ * ~  
  
LATE MAY, SEVENTH YEAR  
  
~ * ~  
  
"I'm going," Harry announced as he burst into the common room later that night.  
Hermione immediately lifted her head from where it had been resting comfortably on  
Ron's shoulder.  
"Harry, NO!" she exclaimed at once, jumping up from the crimson sofa. "You're  
NOT going. You're NOT risking your life! Dumbledore, and Hagrid, and Sirius, and Professor Lupin, and  
Arabella Figg...they're all ready to go fight You-Know-Who, Harry, just leave it to them!"  
"I can't," Harry said sternly. "It's my destiny. This is up to me. I'm going."  
"Harry!" Hermione spun around to face Ron. "He's not going, Ron, tell him we're  
not going to let him go."  
She absolutely wouldn't allow it! She wasn't going to let one of her best friends  
just go after You-Know-Who all by himself...yes, he'd defeated Him before, but that had  
just been Harry and the Dark Lord. Now it would be Harry and Harry alone against  
hundreds of Death Eaters and the most powerful dark wizard of their time.  
He WASN'T going!  
"Harry..." Ron said softly, studying his best friend. "Are you sure you want to do  
this?"  
"I definitely don't want to," Harry said with a short laugh that was devoid of the  
slightest trace of humor. "But...I have to. It's the right thing to do."  
"You're positive?" Ron asked.  
"I am."  
WHAT is he getting at? Hermione thought.  
Ron took a deep breath. "Then I think you should go."  
"WHAT?!" Hermione exploded.  
"I think he should go," Ron repeated simply. "If he feels that it's the right thing to  
do..."  
"But it's NOT the right thing to do!" Hermione shouted. "And you know it! Harry,  
it will be so dangerous, you'll get yourself killed-"  
"Hermione, calm down, I'm going," Harry said.  
"NO!" Hermione yelled. "I'm not letting you do this, Harry James Potter. I am  
NOT letting you-"  
"I'm leaving," Harry interrupted.   
Ron gave him a quick hug and muttered, "Good luck."  
Harry forced a smile, then stared expectantly at Hermione for a second. She could  
feel tears of frustration and fear welling up in her eyes, about to fall at any second.  
"Oh, Harry, you CAN'T!" she cried. "You just can't do this to yourself...and to  
us...Harry!"  
"Hermione, it's my DESTINY," Harry said, his voice frighteningly calm.  
"Professor Trelawney said-"  
"Oh, don't listen to that old fraud!" Hermione exclaimed, tears beginning to shed  
from her eyes. "You know that she's just making it up, I wouldn't be surprised if she was  
on You-Know-Who's side and it's all a plot to get you killed! I-"  
"I was just hoping for a 'good luck'," Harry said softly, then turned and walked out  
of the common room.  
Feeling more than just slightly hysterical, Hermione turned slowly and focused on  
Ron, then let all hell break loose.  
"How could you DO that, you IDIOT?!" she screamed, knowing the whole House  
was probably awake by now but not caring in the least. "You KNOW he would have  
stayed if you sided with me! You KNOW IT! He ALWAYS listens to you, Ron, you  
could have saved him! But no, you had to be the brave and noble best friend and tell him  
to GO! I can't BELIEVE you!"  
"Hermione," Ron said, looking a bit scared. "Calm down."  
"NO, RON, I WILL NOT CALM DOWN!" Hermione hollered. "You just  
KILLED him, do you realize that? You KILLED HIM!"  
Ron's brown eyes immediately began to shine in anger.   
"Harry's my best friend...I wouldn't try to kill him and you know it!"  
"Well, guess what? You just DID!"  
"Would you just get your head out of your ass long enough to see that Harry HAS  
to do this???"  
"Well, EXCUSE ME, just because I care about his safety doesn't mean I'M the  
one with my head up my ass-"  
"What's going on down here?"  
Hermione turned around to see Ginny standing at the bottom of the staircase that  
led to the sixth year girls' dormitory.  
Still angry, she snapped, "Harry's just gone off to fight You-Know-Who. All  
alone."  
Ginny immediately turned sheet white, and she sat down on the bottom stair and  
began to cry.   
"Oh, Gin, stop crying," Ron ordered, his voice not the slightest bit comforting.  
"Ron!" Hermione exclaimed. "She's entitled to cry, you just KILLED her  
boyfriend-"  
"This IS his destiny, Hermione! FACE IT! He HAS to do this, it's for the sake of  
the entire wizarding world! I don't want him to die, Hermione, he's like my brother-"  
"Oh, you mean better than you in everything he does?"  
As soon as the words escaped her lips, Hermione would have given anything to  
take them back. But it was too late. Ron was staring at her with an expression of pure and  
utter loathing.  
"You know what?" he said, his voice drenched in anger and disgust. "I really hate  
you sometimes. I really, really hate you."  
"Well, then, why do we have what we have?" Hermione asked furiously.   
Ron stared at her, his eyes full of so many mixed emotions that it confused her  
just to look at him.  
"Why?" she repeated.  
Ron glared at her and muttered, "We don't have anything."  
Then he turned around and disappeared into the boys' dormitory.  
Hermione felt anger pulsating through her veins, and she let out a scream of  
frustration. WHY? WHY was he so awful???   
And then, like a bullet, the last thing he'd said to her finally registered in her  
mind.  
'We don't have anything.'  
  
~ * ~  
  
PRESENT  
  
~ * ~  
  
  
"So..." Ron said meekly.  
"So..." Hermione echoed. "Um...hi."  
"Hi," Ron said softly. "How's it been?"  
"Fine," replied Hermione. "I got a job at Hogwarts."  
"Cool."  
"Yeah."  
"Well...I'd better get going."  
"All right then. Bye."  
"Bye."  
Ron disappeared out of the kitchen, and George let out a low wolf whistle.  
"As I suspected," he said with a grin.  
"What?" Hermione asked defensively.  
"It's still there."  
"WHAT'S still there?" she asked angrily. "We didn't have anything."  
"Suuure you didn't," Fred said, obviously unconvinced.  
Ugh! Hermione thought in frustration. Do they NEVER give up?  
"Oh, but don't you worry," George said in a frighteningly devious voice that gave  
Hermione every right to worry. "You'll be back together by the time you're supposed to  
go off to Hogwarts."  
"Guaranteed," Fred added. "Or our names aren't Gred and Forge."  
  
~*~  
  
  
"Pewter cauldron...pewter cauldron," Hermione muttered under her breath to  
herself as she pushed open the door to the Weasleys' attic. The twins had sent her  
upstairs, asking her to find a cauldron for them so they could begin working on that  
night's 'dinner'. Eager to escape from their teasing, Hermione had agreed.  
"Pewter cauldron," she mumbled again. "Pewter-AAAH!"  
She spun around, hand to her heart, when someone tapped on her shoulder.   
"Oh, it's just you," she said, relieved as Ron grinned at her.  
"Just me," he repeated. "Who did you think it was?"  
"I don't know," Hermione replied, trying to keep her tone casual. "Maybe the  
ghoul."  
"Oh, he's been gone ages," Ron replied with a wave of his hand. "What are you  
doing up here?"  
"Looking for a pewter cauldron for Fred and George," Hermione replied. Ron  
looked at her in confusion.   
"What?" she asked.  
"That's what I'm up here looking for, too," Ron responded, staring suspiciously at  
the attic door. Hermione went over to it and tried to push it open...locked.  
"We've been trapped," she reported with a sigh.  
"Great," Ron muttered. "I'm supposed to meet Seamus and Lavender in-" he  
checked his watch, "-five minutes ago."  
"Well, we can just apparate out," Hermione said reasonably.  
"Nope," Ron replied, expression grim. "Mum and Dad had this room  
anti-apparition charmed."  
"Why did they do that?" Hermione asked angrily.  
Ron shrugged. "Dunno...it was before I was born. But Fred and George definitely  
planned this out well."  
"You can say that again."  
There was an uncomfortable silence, and Hermione almost blushed each time she  
breathed, it seemed to make such a loud sound. After standing in silence for what seemed  
like hours, she went over to a chair covered in a white sheet and sat down.   
"So..." Ron started. "How long have you been teaching at Hogwarts?"  
"I started last year," Hermione replied.  
"Is it strange?"  
"Kind of," Hermione admitted. "Just...looking down the halls and things and  
seeing students walking around them...you just kind of feel like you should be there too,  
if that makes any sense."  
"It does," Ron said simply.  
"Good."  
"Mmm-hmm."  
They lapsed into another long silence, and the ticking of Ron's watch sounded like  
a bomb dropping every second. She'd counted twenty ticks when she finally decided that  
she should make another attempt at conversation.  
"So," Hermione started, "Do you have a job?"  
Ron shrugged. "Auror training."  
"Really?" Hermione asked, giving him a smile. "That's wonderful, Ron."  
"I suppose," he said unenthusiastically. "But it's really nothing next to a  
curse-breaker or someone in line for the Minister of Magic."  
Hermione felt a pang in her heart for him...after all these years, he still felt  
overshadowed by his brothers.  
"Auror training is wonderful," she repeated. Ron gave her a forced smile in return.  
"So," Ron said after a few more moments of awkward silence. "Have you freed all  
the house elfs at Hogwarts yet?"   
He gave her that infuriating smirk of his that she had found herself missing  
terribly during their years apart.  
"For your information," Hermione sniffed, "The house elfs are an important  
addition to Hogwarts, and the school wouldn't be half as great without them."  
Ron stared at her, dumbfounded.  
"Who is this?" he asked. "And what have you done with Hermione?"  
"Oh, very funny," Hermione said sarcastically. "I've just...realized that they're  
quite useful."  
"So you're one of the 'mindless, lazy slavedrivers' now," Ron continued, grinning.   
"For your information, Mr. Weasley, I pay my house elf fifteen galleons a month,"  
Hermione huffed. "And-"  
"You even HAVE a house elf?" Ron asked, raising an eyebrow at her.  
"Each Hogwarts teacher does," Hermione replied, still keeping her matter-of-fact  
tone.  
"You sure have changed," Ron said with a short laugh.  
"Well, you're exactly the same," Hermione replied, glowering.  
Ron paused for a moment, studying her, then declared, "So are you."  
Hermione felt her cheeks begin to flush under his intense gaze, and she  
immediately began to lecture herself.  
Oh, HONESTLY, Hermione, this isn't fifth year anymore...he shouldn't have this  
effect on you!  
I mean he doesn't.  
"Well," Hermione said softly.  
"Well..." Ron echoed.  
Sighing, she stared at the open cardboard box next to the chair where she sat. It  
seemed to be a stack of photo albums, with a brown-covered one titled 'Ron's Scrapbook'  
at the top of the pile. Hermione picked it up and flipped it open.  
"What do you have there?" Ron asked, a bit suspiciously.  
"Just a photo album," Hermione replied. On the first page, there were pictures of  
Ron and all his siblings...on the second, him and Harry back from when they'd been at  
Hogwarts. A few of him, Harry, and herself. One with a few pictures of Ron's owl, Pig,  
and then...  
"Don't look at that," Ron said quickly, running over and attempting to pull the  
book out of her arms. He succeeded, though too late.   
The page she'd turned to had been full of sparkling red hearts (charmed,  
obviously) and a picture of Ron and herself during fifth year, along with many of her  
alone. Under the picture of Ron and herself, it read 'Ron and Hermione forever' in his  
familiar messy cursive.  
"Ron and Hermione forever?" she asked teasingly, raising an eyebrow at him.  
Ron's ears had gone completely red, something that she couldn't help but still find  
adorable about him.  
"That's old," Ron mumbled. "From a long time ago...back when we were still at  
school."  
"You actually THOUGHT Ron and Hermione forever?" she asked, not intending  
to let up on the teasing. After all, he deserved it after mocking her about Viktor Krum  
back in fourth year! She'd never quite gotten him back for that one...  
"Hey, I was young," Ron said with a shrug, ears still a shocking shade of crimson.  
"I was in love."  
"You...loved me?" Hermione asked softly. Sure, there'd been a time when she'd  
been pretty convinced she was in love with Ron, but she'd never thought he'd felt as  
strongly as she did.  
Ron sent her a 'why-must-you-torture-me-like-this?' look, but Hermione just gave  
him a saccharine smile in reply.  
"Well..." he finally replied. "Yeah." He eyed her suspiciously. "Why? Didn't you  
love me?"  
Hermione felt her pulse speed up, and she could feel herself begin to blush.  
"This is a stupid conversation," she said quickly. "So, are you seeing anyone  
now-"  
"You DID," Ron said, grinning slyly. "You loved me. The smartest girl at  
Hogwarts loved ME."  
"Oh, shut up," Hermione said, giving him a good natured push on the arm. "I was  
young and stupid."  
"Please!" Ron exclaimed. "You've always been a genius." In a sing-songy voice,  
he began to chant, "A genius loved me, a genius loved me, a genius lo-"  
"Shut up," Hermione repeated, trying desperately not to smile. "YOU loved me  
too, remember."  
"Yeah, but I'm not a genius."  
"Well, you were at wizard's chess," Hermione said, then finally asked the question  
that had been on her mind for five years. "If you did love me, why did you say we had  
nothing?"  
She half-expected him to ask, 'Huh?', causing her to be totally mortified that she'd  
dwelled on it for so long and he didn't even remember. But instead, his expression turned  
solemn.  
"You know me," Ron said softly. "I have a bad temper...must be the red hair."  
Hermione laughed halfheartedly.  
"But anyway," Ron continued. "I...I didn't mean it. And I thought you'd know that.  
But then...you didn't."  
"Of COURSE I didn't!" Hermione exclaimed. "I can't read minds, Ron."  
"I know, I know," Ron said. "And I know I was stupid when I look back on it now,  
but...well..."  
"Yes?" Hermione prompted him.   
"You were the brilliant Hermione," Ron said with a lopsided grin. "I thought that  
you'd figure it out...and then you didn't, and I was too arrogant and proud to go  
apologize."  
"So was I," Hermione confessed.   
"And then...it was just...over," Ron said weakly. "And I didn't know how to fix it."  
"Well," Hermione said with a smile. "I'm glad we got locked up here, because...it's  
fixed now."  
"That's good," Ron said, grinning.   
Hermione nodded, at a loss for words.   
She decided to make an another attempt for conversation. "So...seeing anyone?"  
Oh, HONESTLY...obvious much, Hermione? she mentally scolded herself.  
Not that she cared or anything.  
Ron shook his head, his eyes sparkling mischievously. "You?"  
It was Hermione's turn to shake her head.  
"Well," Ron said with a smile. "I'm having dinner with Seamus and Lavender...I'm  
sure they'd be glad to see you again, if you wanted to go."  
"Sounds wonderful," Hermione said, returning the smile. It felt as though a huge  
weight that she'd grown accustomed to carrying around on her shoulders for the last half  
a decade had just been removed, and a blissful lightness had filled her body.   
Now, just one more thing would make it perfect.  
Ron, who seemed to be thinking along the same lines, stared at her intensely.  
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.  
Hermione nodded in reply. "I think so."  
Ron smiled and leaned closer to her.   
"All right then."  
And then their lips touched, and a feeling of sheer happiness filled Hermione's  
body. She felt as though she was back in fifth year again, when they'd shared their first  
kiss. This one was just as amazing, just as magical.   
In a way, it was a first kiss again.  
They pulled apart for a moment and shared a smile as Hermione wrapped her  
arms around Ron's neck. Their lips were just about to meet again when-  
"As I expected!" Fred boomed, the attic door bursting open. George, Harry, and  
Ginny followed, all wearing grins on their faces. "I told you it would work!"  
"And indeed it has," George finished, exchanging a high five with his twin.   
Hermione felt her cheeks light up as everyone's eyes stared laughingly at them,  
but couldn't bring herself to pull away. She didn't want to leave him again, not for a split  
second. They'd already been apart for much too long...  
"Sorry to ruin the moment and all," Fred apologized. "We'll leave you alone to  
pick up where you left off."  
And with that, the four of them all turned around and paraded out of the attic.  
Ron grinned at Hermione. "Shall we?"  
Hermione beamed back. "Certainly."  
  
  
  
THE END 


End file.
